Resources

What Can This Resource Do For Me? / How Can I Access This Resource?

CAREER COUNSELING

Career Counseling

Matthew Pascocello offers comprehensive career counseling services to the WCL alumni population including assistance with resume and cover letter writing, mock interviews, and job-search strategy sessions. If you would like to schedule an in-person or telephonic appointment, please use the appointment feature on the homepage of your CareerLink account. (See below instructions on how to obtain a CareerLink account).

JOB POSTINGS

CareerLink Account Access

Job Postings

CareerLink is a critical tool to access job postings, monthly passwords, and to schedule counseling appointments. If you do not already have an account, please send an email to careerdevelopment@wcl.american.edu including your full name, date of graduation, degree program, and your primary email address (which will become your CareerLink Username). Registration may take up to two business days to process. To view the CareerLink tutorial, click here.

Post-graduate job postings listed with OCPD are accessible through CareerLink under the "Permanent/Full Time" & "Permanent/Part Time" sections. Weekly postings are also forwarded through the Alumni Career Development Listserv (see below) which must be subscribed to separately.

OCPD Alumni Career Development Listserv

Sign up to receive weekly emails containing an assortment of job postings, career-related events, webinar invites, and networking opportunities. The Alumni Listserv does not purport to offer an exhaustive or comprehensive listing of job opportunities but instead a cross-section of those that have recently been forwarded to me for immediate distribution. Alumni should continue to use CareerLink, and the various subscriptions services posted therein, for a fuller list of job opportunities. Alumni may also use the Listserv to solicit job-search advice, information, and referrals among the subscribing WCL alumni community. To subscribe, please email mpasco@wcl.american.edu with your full name, address, and WCL year of graduation.

Subscription-Based & Additional Online Job Postings Resources

OCPD has arranged for alumni access to various subscription-based online job-search resources that can be accessed by using the hyperlinks, usernames, and passwords located on the homepage of your CareerLink account. Additional sector-specific job-search resources are located and linked throughout the relevant “Resources” and “Employment Sectors” sections on the OCPD website.

Job Exchange Bulletins

View job postings from many law schools throughout the U.S. by viewing the Job Exchange Bulletins. Here, you will be prompted to enter the Login Name and Password that are listed on your CareerLink homepage. To obtain a CareerLink account please see instructions above.

JOB SEARCH RESOURCES

Recent Graduates

Recent Graduates have limited free access to WestlawNext for 60 hours per month through November of the year following their graduation date by filling out the post-graduate extension link. Recent graduates also have access to Lexis through the end of July following graduation, and may extend their access by applying for Grad Access at https://www.lexisnexis.com/grad-access/.

An excellent resource for temporary legal projects across many cities and states can be found at the online community The Posse List. For a representative listing of legal temporary agencies in DC, please visit our Resources Library.

Vault Career Insider

OCPD & Pence Law Library have purchased access for alumni use of VAULT.com which offers 90+ e-books covering workplace and industry topics, 3,500 full-text articles, 4,000 employer profiles and company rankings, industry and profession profiles, and career and profession discussion boards. Access the database by logging onto CareerLink and utilizing the "Vault Career Insider" link in the "Important Online Resources" area of the homepage.

Reciprocity

Reciprocity allows alumni to use the OCPD resources of non-local law schools. Click here to apply for reciprocity either to or from American University Washington College of Law. See various school reciprocity policies at http://www.nalp.org/reciprocitypolicies.

ALUMNI NETWORKING RESOURCES

WCL Alumni Mentor Database

The WCL Alumni Mentor Database enables students and alumni to contact practicing WCL graduates for the purposes of networking, seeking general career advice, and informational interviews.

Please consider becoming a mentor by clicking sign up to be a mentor, and providing basic information about your job and contact information. There is no formal time commitment, and the resource serves as a searchable database that WCL students and alumni can use to identify WCL practitioners to reach out to for job-search advice and informational interview purposes.

To search the database, simply click here, enter your CareerLink Login Name and Password (listed on your CareerLink homepage), and explore the several hundred WCL graduates in practice-areas across the country, and in countries around the world. To create a CareerLink account, please follow the above directions.

To update your existing profile, please email mpasco@wcl.american.edu to receive a personalized link that will enable you to access your profile.

WCL Faculty by Practice Area

Former professors can be an excellent point of contact in building a network for your career and professional development. Visit WCL Faculty for a listing of WCL professors according to specialty.

Additional Resources for Identifying Alumni for Networking Purposes

There are many ways to engage alumni for outreach and networking purposes, and below are some of the best public and private resources available to identify graduates from WCL and your undergraduate institutions. Please feel free to set up a counseling appointment with me (via CareerLink) to discuss your outreach plan and how best to leverage these resources.

Non Subscription Based Resources:LinkedIn and Martindale.com are two of the best resources for identifying WCL (and undergraduate) alumni that you can (and should) reach out to for networking purposes. You should also try connecting with your undergraduate office of alumni relations.

Subscription Based Resources: Both West Legal Directory (requiring Westlaw password) and the various Leadership Directories (password only usable via WCL Intranet, but access may be available at your local library) are also very robust tools for identifying alumni in targeted industries and within specific employers.

Judicial Clerkship Alumni Survey Search

Interested in learning more about judicial clerkships? Researching specific judges and courts? Preparing for a judicial clerkship interview? Use this database to locate and review feedback from alumni who clerked with federal judges, state judges/justices, and administrative law judges around the country. Visit: Judicial Clerkship Alumni Database.

BAR ASSOCIATION, BAR ADMISSION, & CLE RESOURCES

Free ABA Memberships For Recent Grads!

The American Bar Association is extending free one-year memberships to recently graduated JDs that offer the following benefits: access to news updates and thoughtful analysis of legal trends; networking events, both online and at national meetings; and career-building opportunities in public speaking, public service and publication. Apply for your free membership here.

The Financial Aid Office has a webpage with information specific to WCL graduates: http://www.wcl.american.edu/finaid/alumni.cfm. Visit the site to learn more about what to do during your grace period, how to consolidate your federal loans, what repayment plans are available, and how to take advantage of various public service loan forgiveness and assistance programs. If after viewing the information you still have questions, the Office of Financial Aid wants to help. Please call them at 202-274-4040 or email your questions to finaid@wcl.american.edu.

Loan Repayment & Debt Management Information for Alumni

PILRAP

IBR and PAYE

The Financial Aid Office has a wealth of information on managing student loan debt and various loan repayment programs, including PILRAP, IBR and PAYE.

Visit http://www.wcl.american.edu/finaid/alumni.cfm to learn more about what to do during your grace period, how to consolidate your federal loans, what repayment plans are available, and how to take advantage of various public service loan forgiveness and assistance programs.

If after viewing the information you still have questions, the Office of Financial Aid is available to assist. Please call the office at 202-274-4040 or email your questions to finaid@wcl.american.edu.

ADDITIONAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES

Alumni Access to Pence Law Library

Assistance with Legal Research

Alumni have extensive in-person and online access to the Pence Law Library resources, including HeinOnLine (through your CareerLink homepage), JSTOR, Project Muse, and Academic Search Premier. Alumni may use the electronic databases and resources anywhere in the Library, and there is a workstation that allows Westlaw access that any library patron may use for research. Due to license restrictions, remote access to subscription-based databases for alumni is not permitted, however alumni are encourage to use the Library’s website and catalog at library.wcl.american.edu

Additionally, Reference Librarians are happy to assist graduates with research at their firms and offices and to help locate sources of legislative history, and international and foreign law and other materials. Contact reflib@wcl.american.edu or call 202-274-4352 for offsite assistance.

Alumni Career Webinars

Several times throughout the year, OCPD offers alumni career-development webinars on a variety of topics. Invitations to the webinars are forwarded via the Alumni CareerDevelopment Listserv (See above).

Webinars are usually recorded and can be accessed remotely through the “Podcast/Webcasts” link on the OCPD homepage.

Alumni Career Development Programs

OCPD offers a number of programs on a range of attorney job-search and career-development issues. For a complete listing, and to register, visit the Events section on your CareerLink account. Also check with the Alumni Relations and SECLE portions of the WCL website for additional events and programs.

Auditing Classes

Subject to course availability, alumni may audit up to two courses per semester for a nominal fee. Concentrated coursework in a particular area of law may help in career transitions or to increase ones credibility in a particular field. More information at: Auditing Classes.

Ordering Transcripts

Alumni may order a copy of their WCL transcript to be delivered either online or via mail by visiting the Registrar’s Office at: Order a Transcript.

Career and Personality Indicator Tests

Without endorsing any particular service or product, alumni may find the following list of career and personality indicator tests to be helpful in assessing and inventorying their particular career-oriented strengths and weaknesses: